Obradovich: Post-convention observations from Tampa, Charlotte

Sep. 8, 2012

The youngest and the oldest delegates to the Democratic National Convention were able to meet each other last week in Charlotte, N.C. The distinctions went to Sam Gray, 17, of Marion, Ia., and Elzena Johnson, 97, of Terry, Miss. / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Written by

Kathie Obradovich

It’s been said that politics is show business for ugly people. After attending both the Republican and Democratic party conventions over the past two weeks, I can attest the first part of that phrase is absolutely right. Both events were largely about show business.

I would never say the people were ugly, though. I met all kinds of people at both conventions: Old and young; liberal and conservative; gay and straight; white, brown and black; rich and poor; famous and obscure. I met athletes and people in wheelchairs. Some were angry, others hopeful. Some had made questionable fashion choices. But not a single one was ugly.

Every person I met was trying, the best way he or she knew how, to make this nation a better place. Individuals may have clashed wildly about how to go about it. But all of them had the initiative to get involved, commit their time, gather sometimes scarce resources to travel to Tampa or Charlotte and try to make a difference. To me, that’s beautiful.

The delegates, alternates and family members from Iowa were the best part of both conventions, hands down.

Here are a few other takeaways from the conventions:

• Both conventions were too long. Hurricane Isaac proved merciful to Tampa in two ways: It bypassed the city, and it prompted Republican Party officials to shorten the convention from four nights to three. Democrats had already made the decision to shorten their program to three nights. But really, two nights would have been better in both Tampa and Charlotte. By the time the nominees gave their acceptance speeches on the final night, everything had been said multiple times — just not everyone had said it.

• Wives outshone their husbands. Ann Romney and Michelle Obama were both a lot more effective than their husbands at conveying the basic message of the campaign and the essence of who the nominees are.

• Family squabbles: Both the Republican and Democratic conventions put intraparty divisions on display. A GOP dispute over rules left many Iowa delegates seething at what they termed a power grab by Romney forces. The rules eventually approved could force changes in how delegates are chosen at the Iowa caucuses. The Democrats’ floor battle over the use of the word “God” and a reference to Jerusalem in their platform made them look silly, but it had no appreciable impact on Iowa delegates’ enthusiasm for Obama.

• Grassroots boost: Neither convention did much for either party’s effort to reach out to swing voters. They were all about mobilizing the party faithful and especially charging up the activists in the arena. The Iowa Democratic delegation was already way ahead of the Iowa GOP in terms of unity behind the nominee, and the gulf only widened during the conventions. Most of the Republican delegation went to Tampa to support U.S. Rep. Ron Paul and many left the Sunshine State with stormy attitudes about the Romney campaign.

• Making the buses run on time: Both the Republican and Democratic parties want to persuade us they can run the country. But their ability to run the buses needed to get their delegations to the conventions left a lot to be desired. The GOP problems were worse, and of more consequence. Whole delegates were left stranded or circling the convention hall for hours when buses didn’t show up or couldn’t get security approval to stop. Democrats reported more sporadic problems: Not enough wheelchair-accessible buses, delays due to Occupy protesters. The national parties can nominate the next president, but I wouldn’t put them in charge of the Department of Transportation.